Yaesu FTM-400DR Microphone Extension

Stock configuration

Picked up a FTM-400 for use in the shack and quickly concluded that I did not care to have the transceiver body near the operating position as would be mandated by the length of the stock mic cord.

The factory mic extension cable is crazy expensive so I began to poke around the net for alternatives. What I found only partially filled my needs I wanted a solid jack which I could mount in the shack.

As Yaesu uses a RJ12 6 conductor setup for the mic, finding off of the shelf telecommunications parts to extend mic jack was not a problem.

Parts

I shopped around Amazon.com and ordered the following piece parts. All in the parts were less than $15. And will provide a solid remote jack and in my case 7 feet of cord to remote locate the transceiver body.

I built my own from parts acquired from my local ACE hardware store. The RJ12 6 pin connectors are available in a multi pack. and an RJ12 inline female connector. You will also need the crimping tool.Then build the cable to desired length using cat5 cable. Connect one end of the new cable to the radio and other to the RJ12 inline female. Connect your microphone to the other female port and you are back on the air.

Thanks for the research, based on your note I checked (and fixed a typo in an url) the costs from your suppliers including and those from Amazon (using my Prime membership), and with shipping factored in very close. I was surprised that the RJ12 coupler has tripled in price since I wrote the post. It pays to shop around and price check.

Jay,
Thanks for this post and all the work you did on finding parts. I have the FTM-100DR and was struggling to find place to install my unit but the mic was too short. I have a Chrysler 300 and it has no flat spaces to mount a radio so this little kit allows me to put base under my seat and use head separation kit and an external speaker to hide my main unit. Works great. Thanks so much!

I have the FTM 400XD and want to mount the radio body under the passenger seat and the faceplate on the dash. This seems like just what I need. Will this be a fit for my radio you suspect? Are these still valid numbers for this radio do you know? B000I97MYU, B006IKHB12, B006IKHDZG.

Last question- did you think the RFI choke helped and that its worth getting?

Sorry for the delay, yes I would expect Yaesu to not change the connectors from one generation of the radio to the next. Does yours use a MH-48 microphone? my 400DR does this would be confirmation. In a mobile install you can forgo the choke, I have a bunch of RF in a shack environment I would not expect you to have mobile unless running high power HF mobile.

I just installed my FTM-100DR in my car, and needed the extension cable. Jay’s instructions were perfect. I found the parts even cheaper at Monoprice (my go-to cable place), with only $2.99 for shipping: